Oil prices fell to nearly $94 a barrel Friday in Asia amid mixed signs about the U.S. economy and crude demand. Benchmark oil for July delivery was down 66 cents to $94.29 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 14 cents to settle at $94.95 on Thursday. In London, Brent crude for August delivery was down 50 cents to $113.52 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. On Thursday, a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that manufacturing slowed in that region, one day after a similar report found that manufacturing was weakening in the New York area. "Negative economic numbers could place more downward pressures on petroleum pricing," Ritterbusch and Associates said. "We expect bearish rather than bullish surprises out of the economic releases." Other U.S. economic news was more positive. The pace of new home construction quickened last month and the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits fell last week to 414,000, more of an improvement than economists expected. Investors will be eyeing the latest U.S. consumer sentiment data later Friday. In other Nymex trading in July contracts, heating oil fell 0.5 cents to $3.00 a gallon while gasoline dropped 14 cents at $2.92 a gallon. Natural gas futures advanced 1 cent at $4.42 per 1,000 cubic feet.
